Tag Archives: Rape

In 2005,in charthawal village ,muzzaffarnagar district ,Uttar pradesh,Imrana ,wife of Noor Elahi, was obtruded to disassociate from her husband and marry Ali Mohammed,her father in-law,who raped her.The local panchayat acted as the strengthener of the adjudicature and asserted her present marriage annulled.She was also beckoned to observe a period of seven months to purify herself and upon the completion of which she was supposed to marry her father in law. However,later on the police arrested Ali Mohammed and subsequently the court sentenced Mohammed to 10 years in prison for raping Imrana. He also received a three-year term for a separate charge of criminal intimidation.

“Imrana’s father-in-law being arrested by the police”

In 2003 Bhura a ward boy who brutally raped a 22-year-old nurse and seriously injured her eyes at the hospital ,just before when a city court was about to announce the quantum of punishment to be given to him,moved an application before the court expressing a desire to marry the victim.In his application ,Bhura pleaded the court that he is now a reformed man,and moreover tried to showoff benevolence by proposing to marry the victim as nobody would be ready to marry her after her rape.The court accepted his application and the Additional Sessions Judge J M Malik asked the victim and her parents to appear before it the next day to file their reply.

In Baripada town, 150 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, a rape accused, who was an under trial prisoner, married the woman he had attacked in the presence of senior politicians, police and government officials. After nearly two months, the accused was released by an order passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Court allowing him to go back to his village and lead a life with his ‘wife.’

In another incident in Bhubaneswar the alleged rapist, a government official, was persuaded to marry his victim by an NGO supporting the victim. A special wedding function was organized by the NGO in the prison, to which the media was also invited. Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan , who had said, “Due regard must be given to their (the rape victims’) personal autonomy since in some cases, the victim may choose to marry the perpetrator or choose to give birth to a child conceived through forced intercourse.”

What kind of justice is this?Doesn’t it induce more victimization of the victim.It also tantamount’s to a permissive approach towards the perpetrator?How could the courts who are upholders of justice can entertain such applications?Isn’t it crooked for the courts to consider and promulgate such acts which are unrighteously conceived to avert the punishment.Moreover, these proposals are made by the accused just before when the verdict is to be pronounced and the perpetrator is sure that he cannot avoid his punishment.

Why does the family and the girl approbate such proposals?The reason for such acceptance is quite apparent,we live in a society where people are more concerned with inflicting more injury on the victim by insulting her,questioning her character rather than help healing the wounds.We constitute a society in which people are not considerate towards the victims quandary till the time they encounter one.So,this kind of proposal by the accused seems to be the best solution and way out for the victim and her family to protect themselves from the social stigma.But would the girl lead a normal married life,or to put it appropriately can anybody lead a normal life if we are put in the similar situation?

This type of acceptance be it on the part of religion as in case of Imrana or on the part of the courts will foster such crimes,because the accused will always have a way out by marrying the victim.Be it religion or the justice system ,their prime responsibility is to stand as upholders of morality in any society,and if they flunk to perform their duty befittingly,they should be reprimanded and thereupon recaliberated to champion for what they were established.